In mass merchandizing the need for optimizing merchandizing efficiency becomes ever more pressing.
In the case of certain liquid products, such as for example, automobile windshield washer anti-freeze, oil and the like, and comestibles such as milk, wherein large volumes of product are sold, the space requirements necessary to carry an extensive inventory of pre-packaged stock can prove very expensive. Moreover, the constant re-stacking and re-organization of product display shelves is labour intensive.
An alternative method of merchandising these goods, which solves the space problem, is to provide in-store dispensing of the liquids from bulk supply. Where such dispensing is manual, it can be carried out either by the purchaser or by retail store personnel. The former is not a practical alternative in many cases, and may be restricted by health, safety and marketing considerations with respect to certain goods. The latter solution of using store personnel is again labour intensive, so as not to be cost effective and may also be negatived by health, safety and marketing considerations. Therefore, while large savings can potentially be made in transporting the liquid by tank truck or other similar bulk transport vehicle directly from the source of supply to the retail outlet, the costs, complexities and liabilities of dispensing the liquid remain to be dealt with.
Currently known vending machines can be seen as a partial solution to the floor space and re-stocking problems, but are not readily adaptable to a wide range of products and do not provide the savings of a system allowing for on-site bulk dispensing of liquid or other flowable products.
While automatic machines for filling containers with liquid are well known, such machines are typically part of a high volume packaging line and, as such, are not suited for on-site installations in retail sales outlets.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for automatically dispensing liquid or other flowable products from a bulk supply into individual containers, upon demand, which method is suitable for on-site use, such as for example, in retail sales establishments.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for the automatic dispensing of liquids or other flowable products from a bulk supply into individual containers, upon demand, which apparatus is sized and otherwise suited for operative installation in retail sales establishments.
Thus, there is provided, according to one aspect of the invention, a process of machine dispensing a discrete quantity of a bulk liquid into a container having a hinged closure fitted on a neck portion of the container in a closed configuration. The process comprises, in order, the steps of: mechanically selecting the container from an aligned stack of similar containers; mechanically positioning the selected container in a predetermined filling position with the closure in predetermined indexed relation to the container; mechanically opening the closure to access the container; mechanically introducing a metered quantity of the bulk liquid into the container through the opened closure; mechanically closing the closure to seal the container; and, mechanically delivering the sealed container of liquid to a dispensing access of the machine.
According to another aspect of the invention, wherein the process of the invention is practiced with a hinged closure having an annular rim portion and a hinged lid portion, the closure opening step includes the sub-step of radially compressing a pressure sensitive area of the rim portion so as to initially open the hinged lid portion to an open condition, and, thereafter, applying an opening force against the operative underside of the lid portion thereby to displace the hinged lid portion of the closure through a predetermined distance to affect an operative degree of opening thereof.
Moreover, in yet another process aspect of the invention, the containers are vertically stacked and the selection step additionally includes displacing the selected container from an aligned uppermost position in the stack by gripping the neck portion of the container and withdrawing the container from the stack. In this aspect, the positioning step also includes pivoting of the selected container so gripped in downward pivoting motion about the neck portion thereof into the filling position, at which filling position the container is in a substantially vertically suspended configuration with the neck portion substantially vertically oriented.
In yet a further embodiment of the inventive process, the aforementioned pivoting of the selected container into the filling position causes the pressure-sensitive area of the rim portion to contact an abutment means, such contact radially compressing the pressure-sensitive area so as to initially open the hinged lid portion for further opening action.
The invention further relates to a container filling and dispensing apparatus for use with a plurality of containers each having a mouth providing access to the interior of the container and a closure having a hinged lid portion positionable over the mouth for closing of the container, the apparatus comprising: magazine means adapted for receiving the plurality of containers in oriented stacked relation therein; container positioning means for relocating a selected one of the stacked containers to a predetermined operative filling position; opening means for opening the closure of the selected container; liquid dispensing means for dispensing a metered quantity of a bulk liquid through the mouth into the interior or the selected container at the filling position; closing means for closing the closure of the selected container in sealing relation with th mouth, and, means to deliver the selected container to a dispensing access of the apparatus.
According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for filling and dispensing containers each having a neck portion defining a generally circular opening to the container and a closure positioned on the neck portion. The closures each have a rim portion grippingly surrounding the neck portion and a lid portion connected by hinge means to the rim portion so as to selectively seal the opening. The apparatus comprises: cabinet means forming a housing; first trolley means mounted within the housing so as to be movable in first and second opposed longitudinal directions; magazine means postioned within the housing and adapted to receive a plurality of the containers in oriented stacked relation therein with the neck portions of the containers protruding from the magazine means substantially in the first longitudinal direction; gripper means pivotally mounted on the first trolley means and adapted for gripping a selected one of the containers about the neck portion for withdrawal of the selected container from the magazine means upon movement of the first trolley means in a first longitudinal direction and for pivoting the gripped container to a filling position whereat the neck portion is oriented generally transversely to the first and second longitudinal directions; opening means mounted on the first trolley means and adapted for movement in the longitudinal directions relative to the first trolley means and for engagement with the operative underside of the lid portion when moving in the second longitudinal direction, thereby to urge the lid portion to an operatively open position, at which open position the opening means are clear of the container opening; filler means having a dispensing nozzle mounted within the housing, which nozzle is adapted to be positionable over the opening when the lid portion is in the operatively open position, thereby to allow filling of the selected container with a metered quantity of a flowable substance, and which nozzle is adapted for withdrawal clear of the closure subsequent to the filling; closing means mounted on the first trolley means and adapted for movement in the first and second longitudinal directions relative to the trolley means in coordination with the movement of the opening means so as to engage the operative top surface of the lid portion subsequent to the withdrawal of the dispensing nozzle, thereby to seal the opening; release means positioned within the housing and adapted to cause release of the selected container from the gripper means after filling and sealing of the selected container; and, delivery means adapted to deliver the filled and sealed container from the point of the release to a user dispensing area.
According to a further development of the apparatus of the invention, an abutment means is mounted on the first trolley means and is adapted to affect the aforementioned hinged opening of the lid portion by contacting a pressure-sensitive area of the rim portion of the hinged closure upon pivoting of the selected container to the filling position thereby to apply a radially directed force of threshold magnitude to a pressure-sensitive area of the rim portion.
In yet a further aspect of the inventive apparatus, the magazine means comprises a plurality of magazine means arranged within the housing to define first and second opposed lateral directions. The device additionally comprises a second trolley means upon which the first trolley means is mounted for independent movement in the first and second longitudinal directions as aforesaid. The second trolley means is itself mounted within the housing so as to be independently movable in the first and second opposed lateral directions so as to be selectively positionable adjacent a selected one of the plurality of magazine means. This arrangement thereby allows the gripping of the selected container by the gripper means from the selected one magazine means.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plurality of magazine means is each separately tiltable in the second longitudinal direction from an operative rest position upon urging contact by the first trolley means so as to partially displace a selected one of the stacked containers from its oriented stacked relation within the respective magazine means for gripping by the gripping means. Furthermore, in the preferred embodiment, the filler means includes displacement means adapted to provide relative displacement of the nozzle into operative engagement with the opening to facilitate the aforementioned filling of the selected container. The displacement means is preferably mounted on a third trolley means carried by the first trolley means, which third trolley means is adapted for independent movement in the first and second longitudinal directions.